


Orientation Week

by Jo Lasalle (Jo_Lasalle)



Category: KAT-TUN (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-20
Updated: 2014-09-20
Packaged: 2018-02-18 04:09:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2334761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jo_Lasalle/pseuds/Jo%20Lasalle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally Kazuya had a hard-on for Oda Nobunaga.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Orientation Week

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Patrycja444d](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patrycja444d/gifts).



> Dear Patrycja, I hope you enjoy this!

Kazuya knocks on the door for the second time, then checks his phone for the email again. He's pretty sure he's got the right door, and he knows it's the right building because he looked it up online. He takes a deep breath because he was going to be _cool_ , though he really hopes he's not knocking down the wrong door here because that would be extremely embarrassing on top of all this--- 

The door flies open, small eyes blinking at him under an exploded nest of hair, and Kazuya isn't nervous at all anymore, he's just annoyed. 

"Yeah?" 

"Hi," he says. "It's three o'clock, you told me to come here?"

"What?" 

"I'm Kamenashi," he says, in case it helps. "From history, remember?"

"Oh shit," the guy says. "That was today?"

 _This_ , he thinks. This is the _other_ reason he didn't want this gig. He'd wanted to be paired with Nakamaru-kun, who looks like a friendly uncle, always turns his stuff in on time, and is in general willing to take direction. But no, Takizawa-sensei thought it was an excellent idea to stick him with the guy who's already had to borrow Kazuya's textbook twice because he forgot his own and who is asleep at three on a Sunday afternoon.

Not that he's criticizing Takizawa-sensei. Takizawa-sensei is awesome. But, still. 

"Sorry, I was just, um, it was a long night and I was having a nap, I kind of forgot," Akanishi says sheepishly. He runs a hand through his hair, which just makes it stick up in different directions. He steps back and waves expansively. "But I'll be totally ready, just give me a minute and come in, or, you know, come in, and then give me a minute, do you want some coffee?"

"Yeah, sure," Kazuya says. Coffee will probably help all around. "Thanks." 

He steps inside, steps around a pile of red and yellow sneakers, and squeezes in to stand between a bicycle lock and two bags of empty cans on one side and a basket with a very dusty fake flower in it on the other, in a little square of floor left free for taking off his shoes. The rack full of coats and bags bulges so far into the genkan he thinks it might be trying to eat him.

"Sorry!" Akanishi calls out. "I still remembered this morning and I wanted to clean up a bit but then I was so tired I had to take a nap and then the alarm didn't go off." He's rummaging around in the kitchen, which looks as cluttered through the open door as the rest of the place. 

Kazuya noticed a problem with Akanishi's alarm before, especially on Thursdays when they have their history class at eight in the morning. He steps up into the apartment, which has no window except the one by the entrance. The carpet's a drab sort of grey, but it doesn't really matter because you don't see much of it. Kazuya steps around a pile of dog-eared manga, another pile of magazines and books, and two travel bags stacked on top of each other, and then he's in front of the coffee table but doesn't know which side he's supposed to sit on because everything is covered with stuff.

He can tell that Akanishi likes pizza. His roommate either likes pizza too, or Akanishi has a girlfriend who likes pizza. And tequila, though there's somehow five tiny glasses to the two pizza cartons and the dry pizza sprinkles on the floor.

He really, really wishes he'd gotten Nakamaru.

"Get comfortable!" Akanishi says. "Water's almost there."

There's a wheeze of a kettle, and more rummaging. Kazuya kneels to sit carefully and starts stacking the shot glasses and the pizza boxes on top of each other. He puts the stray pens in one pile and some beer caps in another, and at least one of the three remotes is kind of sticky and now he wants to wash his hands. 

Then the scent of coffee starts tickling his nose. 

"My roommate is out so we have the place to ourselves." Akanishi is coming out of the kitchen, one mug of coffee in each hand. 

"Yeah, you said," Kazuya replies. 

"Hey, thanks!" Akanishi says when he discovers there's room on the table to put the mugs. He's in sweatpants and not the stylish kind. They kind of flop around his legs and his underpants peek out when he sits down. Kazuya's wearing his best jeans and now he's sitting on a pizza floor with them.

"No problem. You had a party last night?"

"Nah, just watching a movie." Akanishi gives him a sleepy sort of grin. "Chilling after work, you know."

"You have a job?" Kazuya's not sure why but he thought Akanishi was on a full parental scholarship. Maybe because of the apartment. Maybe just because Akanishi always looks so relaxed all the time.

"Well, part time, you know." Akanishi shrugs and seems to flush a bit. "Anyway. Project?"

Yes, work. They're here to work. Kazuya pulls his brainstorming folder out of his bag and flips it open to show Akanishi what he's prepared so far. "Well, I've already summarized the relevant points, and I was thinking that we could do an overview of the most important dates and events and find some illustrations to make it more interesting. I've looked up some details that usually get overlooked in the standard textbooks, here." He flips to the relevant pages and points.

Akanishi reads. At least that's what Kazuya thinks he's doing with that staring. "Uh-huh," he says. "That's cool."

"What do you have so far?" 

Akanishi looks at him, then the coffee; squirms a bit. "I thought we were starting today?" He shoots Kazuya an uneven smile. "Why don't you let me read your stuff and I'll come up with something."

Kazuya keeps his cool, both about the smile and the admission, and pushes his folder towards Akanishi across pizza crumbs and dried condensation rings. _Thanks, Takizawa-sensei_ , he thinks. At least this experience doesn't fall short of expectations.

*****

"Hey, Kamenashi!"

Kazuya starts up from his notes. He can't place the voice right away and then there's Akanishi next to him, looking like this is a very happy coincidence. 

It's Tuesday and they're in World History together. Well, not _together_. Akanishi usually sits somewhere on the side near the exchange students, at least when he doesn't forget his textbook and has to borrow from people. Or, apparently, today, since he's raising his eyebrows at the empty seat next to Kazuya and drops down in it before waiting for a reply.

"How's it going?"

"It's going okay," Kazuya says. He's got all his studying done and feels prepared for the lesson. He's even prepared the questions he wants to ask Kimura-sensei. Then he remembers belatedly to ask, "And you?"

"I'm good, everything's cool." Akanishi looks it too. Relaxed and full of smiles, in faded light jeans. "So when are we meeting again?" he asks. "I read all your notes again _and_ I took some of my own and I watched a documentary online and I'm kind of ready to roll some more." 

Kazuya is surprised by the initiative. He didn't think he'd talk to Akanishi before Japanese History on Thursday, and Thursday only works when there aren't any issues with his alarm clock. "I don't know, when do you want to meet?"

"Do you want to come by my place after class today?" Akanishi suggests. "I mean, you know the way now and all and we have space."

That is a bit of a subjective assessment. "I work tonight," Kazuya says. His shift starts at five and he usually heads straight for the train after the café closes. 

Akanishi purses his lips. "Hmm, tomorrow then? We can order pizza. You really have to watch this documentary, it's totally interesting."

Eating at Akanishi's isn't so appealing after he's seen that kitchen, and that table, but then Kimura-sensei comes in and Kazuya needs to pay attention.

"Fine, tomorrow," he says under his breath as the room quiets down, and then he ignores Akanishi's pleased grin too.

*****

Akanishi looks different during class. Kazuya has never been in a position to notice because Akanishi always sits at least five rows behind him and also because Kazuya doesn't look at him that much anyway.

But Akanishi pays attention. His notes are sloppy and nearly unreadable and Kazuya doesn't know how he's going to get any useful studying done with them, but he's not dozing or, as Kazuya kind of expected, emailing with his buddies. Instead he nods to himself now and then, his brow furrowing when Kimura-sensei opens questions for discussion.

He doesn't say anything. Just looks randomly nervous. 

Kazuya has prepared a very well-informed statement on the African slave trade, and gets antsy when there never seems to be a fitting question for it, but then he improvises something on English manufacturing and Kimura-sensei nods in that elegant way that makes Kazuya feel excited and reassures him that maybe he's said something smart.

*****

"You really put a lot of work into all that stuff," Akanishi says as they queue in the cafeteria. He followed Kazuya out of the classroom and now here they are, queuing for burgers. Kazuya's not sure why because he wanted fried rice. "It took me like an hour to read all your notes, and that's just _notes_."

"Well, it's a cool prize," Kazuya says. He knows that's not really the best reason to work hard, but Takizawa-sensei does know what he's doing. Whoever puts together the best display will get to go to an open-air reenactment of the final days of Oda Nobunaga in Kyoto. "I mean, I want to present something good. I like that it's not writing an essay for a change."

"Yeah, but it would be pretty easy just to pass," Akanishi says. "Easier than with a paper. You'd just have to put up some overviews and shit."

"Yeah, but…" He can't decide if this shouldn’t need explaining or if he doesn't want to explain. Probably both. They've reached the fries and both grab a plate, Akanishi dumping a whole handful of ketchup packs next to his.

"But you really, really want the prize," he says with a grin, elbowing Kazuya in the side. 

"Hey, watch it, I'm carrying a _tray_ ," Kazuya snaps.

"Okay, okay," Akanishi says, looking huffy all of a sudden. "Whatever."

*****

"Okay, I kind of want to win it too." Akanishi pushes an americano towards him and moves a plate with a brownie and a scone into the middle. There are two forks and Akanishi offers him sugar sticks, too. Akanishi's got a caramel latte and is now fishing for something in his bag. Oh, right, his notes. Then he rearranges the cakes again so he can actually fit the paper on the table.

"Yes, fine," Kazuya rolls his eyes. "I want to win that trip." Takizawa-sensei said the tickets were really good too, in the first fifteen rows. And Kazuya's only been to Kyoto once, on a trip in middle school.

The contest is between all the students in his history class. Each team is going to prepare a display of some sort, and all together it'll make up an exhibition for the Open Door Day. It can be like a museum piece, or something else, Takizawa-sensei said.

"Yeah, I _know_. You were looking all twitchy when Takki-san was talking about it." Akanishi takes a sip of his latte but Kazuya can see the smug smile around the cup.

"I was not, I was just interested, and how do you know that anyway? You're always sitting at the back." 

"You were giving off the twitch vibes so bad I could even see it from the back."

"Like you even knew who I was," Kazuya says testily. "Or were you just looking for a partner who'd do all the work for you and you could coast along?"

Akanishi puts his coffee down and frowns. "Hey, don't be a dick. I read two books and that whole encyclopedia you wrote down _and_ I've put together all sorts of stuff on how Nobunaga was interested in Western crap and that slave guy because I think that is also interesting, not just how he died." 

That brings Kazuya up short. "You already looked that out?" He remembers wanting to follow that up, but then he got distracted chronicling the campaigns and keeping track of which Nobunaga killed which when.

Akanishi glares meaningfully and prods his notes forward with the edge of his coffee cup.

"That's all in there?" Kazuya asks.

"Yeah, with _footnotes_." Akanishi glares more. Then he snorts, his shoulders relaxing, and he slumps back in his chair. "I had this really anal tutor in the first two weeks in orientation, did you have to do that too? She looked a bit like my ex, that was weird."

"Yeah, I did," Kazuya says. He kind of enjoyed it. There were rule sheets and explanations on how to do all that correctly.

"So, okay, winning," Akanishi says, breaking off half the scone and having a hearty bite. "Let's do it."

Kazuya can't help grinning a bit. "Okay, let's do our best."

*****

Kazuya knocks. He definitely knows it's the right door now, even when it takes a moment. He recognizes the rusty clothes hanger too.

Akanishi opens the door. "Hi!" He's smiling. "You're totally on time!"

"Well, I said I'd come straight over after my last class?" Kazuya replies as he steps in. Though now that he thinks about it, he should probably have… thought about it. Should have maybe considered three walks around the block to give sweatpants and pizza cartons time to clear.

But there are no sweatpants and not even pizza cartons. At the university Akanishi's always got a disheveled look about him; this is the first time Kazuya thinks his hair is styled, maybe, unless he got some unfair genes in the hair department too and they just fall soft and flattering like that.

Instead of the pizza cartons, there's a guy sitting at the table. Kazuya stops for a moment, and blinks. The guy has pretty eyes and buff arms and a wavy haircut, he could be in an advertisement. He's hot.

"Yeah, that's my roommate, Yamashita."

Oh. Of course. Roommate. He even knew that. 

"Hey, what's up," Yamashita says, raising a coffee mug at him.

"Who will be on his way in a moment," Akanishi says pointedly, and Yamashita rolls his eyes. 

"Hello," Kazuya says. "Nice to meet you." He's feeling less disoriented and now mostly annoyed with himself, because he doesn't even care. 

"You're Jin's history buddy, right?" 

That's one way to summarize it. Not the way Kazuya summarizes it but... "We take the same history classes this semester, yes. And we're working on a project together." 

"Yeah, Oda Nobunaga," Yamashita says. "Jin can't get enough of the guy."

"Yo, shut the fuck up and go to work before I ruin your make-up," Akanishi says and kicks Yamashita's thigh. He shoots a quick glance in Kazuya's direction but then turns his head away when Kazuya looks back at him.

"Yeah, yeah, fine, I'm on my way," Yamashita says, draining his coffee and pushing up from his cross-legged seat. "Have fun, you two."

When all three of them are standing, the room feels full. Yamashita and Kazuya step around each other without knocking over any of the piles of crap on either side of the wall. Well, Yamashita probably has practice. 

He digs out a pair of shoes from under two other pairs and then he's off, calling out, "Study hard, get smarter," as the door closes behind him.

"He's got a gig in some really hot fashion store, that's why he's wearing make-up," Akanishi says, much to Kazuya's confusion. "He's not gay or anything."

It stops him in his tracks, prickling bursts all down his back.

"I just wanted to say, in case that sounded weird. I mean, not _weird_. Just, wrong." Akanishi stops and blinks, and Kazuya can almost feel a gear shift of some kind. "So you're not misinformed," he says much more slowly.

"Sure," Kazuya says, and looks away. They should just get organized and get started, and get done. That would be good. He can just ignore this because it's not like it matters, at all.

Akanishi picks up Yamashita's abandoned coffee mug and Kazuya notices that the rest of the table has already been devoted to their project, not a pizza crust in sight.

*****

Three hours later and an unexpected amount of progress later, Kazuya is getting kind of hungry.

They have watched that documentary Akanishi was going on about and they have the Nobunaga family tree on three sheets of paper Kazuya glued together, and three new lists of Main Dates and Also Relevant Dates and Third-Order Relevant Dates. Akanishi really found out a lot about that Portuguese black guy and they really want to include that as a tangent, only haven't decided where on their hypothetical poster it should go.

Kazuya tried to sketch how that poster should look like and Akanishi had a giggle fit about it, and Kazuya nearly walked out because it's not like Akanishi is the master of graphic design. But they made up, and now Akanishi is just grinning about the loud growling noise coming from Kazuya's stomach.

"So how do you feel about some pizza?" he asks. 

Well, it does seem kind of fitting.

Akanishi orders for them, because of course he'd have a favourite place. Kazuya tries to dig out his wallet from the bottom of his bag, which is still full of stuff for five different seminars today, and in the end he pulls it all out because he doesn't want all his notes getting ripped by the rummaging. 

When he has his money sorted, he looks up and finds Akanishi thumbing through his index cards for Introduction to Sociology. 

"Wow," he says. 

Kazuya flushes, and really wishes he didn't. "Never mind that, it's got nothing to do with the project." 

"That's a lot of work." Akanishi sounds impressed, and before Kazuya can do anything about it he lifts one of the textbooks and discovers the bundle of index cards Kazuya has for World History. "Do you do this for _all_ your classes?"

"My parents live an hour away, I study on the train," Kazuya says. "It's convenient for the train." He kind of wishes Akanishi would stop flicking through them but it's not a big enough deal to really object outright.

Akanishi's eyes are still big. "Do you really cram for everything like that?" 

"Yes," Kazuya says, and busies himself stuffing the things Akanishi hasn't got his hands on yet back into the bag. 

"That's pretty hardcore," Akanishi says.

"It's just studying," Kazuya says, annoyance churning in his stomach. Really, everyone has their tricks, and it's not like this is cheating. "It's what we're there for, right?"

"I don't know," Akanishi says thoughtfully. "Why are you memorizing…" He turns over a random card. "…when some English queen's advisor died?"

"Because I have to, okay?" God, Akanishi is so infuriating with his… his _opinions_.

"It's not an entrance exam, we're allowed to look stuff up now, you know?" Akanishi is frowning. "Don't get so mad."

"This is costing my parents a lot of money and I don't know how some people just waltz into class and know how to do everything, because if I want to do that I have to learn it, like this." He's not sure why he's so embarrassed suddenly, it's not like Akanishi is some kind of genius either.

"Yeah, okay," Akanishi says. Something is going on in his brain but Kazuya is too twitchy – yeah, _now_ he's twitchy – to figure out what it is. "I wasn't making fun of you, I think it's cool."

Kazuya huffs out a breath. He knows better, and it's not cool by anyone's definition of the word. But, fine, he'll take it.

*****

Takizawa-sensei isn't there yet and the room is low-level buzzing with tired early morning tales of hangovers and weekend plans. Kazuya has been up for two hours, and is feeling pretty awake. He's sitting alone and thinking about the project, and trying not to look at the door every few seconds.

He sat with Tanaka and Nakamaru the first few weeks of term but now they're also planning their project for the Kyoto trip competition and have chosen the far side of him, which makes sense. 

The project, after all, is the reason why Akanishi drops himself into a seat two minutes before class and says, "Hey, good morning," sounding like he just rolled out of bed and someone brought him his favourite coffee. 

"Hi," Kazuya says. He didn't see Akanishi coming because he didn't watch the door, and now he's a little bit relieved. Because they have things to discuss. 

"So, I've been thinking," Akanishi says. "I think we have too much stuff."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I read all your notes again, and there is no way we can get that on a few posters or whatever. We should focus on something more specific, either some event or…" He trails off, but one surprising thing after the last four days is that Kazuya can tell exactly which event he's talking about.

*****

"Mind, we should consider…" Jin takes a break to shovel more pasta into his mouth. They're back in the cafeteria together. Kazuya drew the line at tomato sauce and queued separately for katsudon. Now he waits for the rest of the sentence as Jin keeps chewing. "We're probably not going to be the only ones focusing on his death."

Yeah. It's inconvenient, but probably no less true. Honno-ji is just so fascinating. "Then I guess we just have to be better at it than them," Kazuya says.

Jin grins and looks like that was very much what he wanted to hear. "I wonder what exactly they're planning, though." 

"Yeah…" It's a good question. Might be worth it to know what they're up against.

Jin is giving him a long, considered look. "Do you think we should find out?"

"Might be useful," Kazuya says. "Just so we don't do anything too similar…" On the one hand he doubts that anyone can have done more reading on Oda Nobunaga's death than him expect perhaps Takizawa-sensei himself, but sometimes it pays to be safe.

"Are we meeting again at my place tomorrow?" Jin asks. 

"I have time today," Kazuya says. He feels a bit fired up, and he can try to find out what Tanaka and Nakamaru are up to later because he has Introduction to Sociology with Tanaka.

"I, um, kind of have to work," Jin says. "Sorry." He always looks cagey when he talks about work, and Kazuya distantly wonders if he's some sort of host, though then he tries not to think about it too much. "Friday?" 

Friday it is.

*****

"We should do something where people get to _do_ stuff," Jin says.

"Do stuff," Kazuya says. He's semi-comfortable on Jin's dirty carpet and slowly making his way through a beer. Beer is one of those things that Jin always seems to have in the house. There's a bowl of peanuts on the coffee table that's seeing them through till the next pizza run.

Yamashita is in his room, either napping or meditating. The walls are so thin Kazuya can sometimes hear the bass from his headphones.

Kazuya found out from Tanaka that he and Nakamaru are planning a very meticulous overview of Nobunaga's upbringing. Jin found out from Taguchi that Ueda is planning something very cool, but won't even tell his team-mate about it, so that was pretty useless. Everyone else in the class seems to be planning some standard info posters, with some guy planning a life-size drawing and someone else just wanting to present lots of books, so there doesn't seem to be much competition there.

"I mean..." Jin fidgets and sits up on his knees. Kazuya finds his eyes uncomfortably intense when he's awake like this. "These are supposed to be like exhibits, right? Like when you're in a museum, and you can actually pull at stuff or make things go, you know? That's always _way_ more interesting." 

"But isn't that more for kids?"

Jin shrugs. "I don't know, I always find it more interesting too. Don't you?" 

"Yeah, okay, but…"

"What if…" Jin is practically radiating deep thoughts, and it's hard to look away from him. "What if we forgot all about the timeline stuff, and we made a sort of exhibit about the most important people for him? Like, focus on _them_ with the text." 

Kazuya's first instinct is no, he's done too much reading and there are so many very important things. But Jin looks like this is taking shape in his head, and the longer Kazuya watches him…

"Who do you think is important?" he asks.

"Well," Jin says. "There's the traitor guy and Hideyoshi, for one… but the most important one was Ranmaru." He holds Kazuya's eyes for a very long moment. "Don't you think?"

Kazuya turns red, which is really very stupid, because they're only talking about history, and he doesn't know why Jin is watching him like that. "No. I think so too."

*****

They meet on Saturday morning before Kazuya has his shift in the café, in a Starbucks. Jin gets Kazuya his americano, no sugar, and sits down with a huge caramel latte, complete with whipped cream.

"I think we could make it interesting by having video cuts that people can click on," he's explaining. "Like, of the people who were important to him."

"Hmmm." It sounds interesting. But also very modern and a bit risky. "But, like, as the only thing?"

"No, maybe we could have some more traditional posters around it, too," Jin admits. "So it's not too weird and maybe people can look at stuff when the video doesn't interest them." 

They try to narrow down the dates, Kazuya scribbling busily while Jin has a lot of opinions. It's productive, though. Jin says more about history than Kazuya has ever heard him say in class.

Then they both have to go to their part-time jobs, and postpone the actual work of making stuff until tomorrow. 

"What is your job, anyway?" Kazuya asks right as they step outside Starbucks, because even if Jin's a host it's not _really_ going to bother him, because Jin would of course appeal to women and he dates women and so it's not actually a big deal.

"Um," Jin says. He looks left and right. "I'm kind of, I'm… I'm a babysitter."

Kazuya is surprised. It's kind of a girl job, and while he doesn't say it, Jin's face says very loudly that he hears it. 

"I like kids, okay?" he says. "My ex-girlfriend had some gigs like that and I once covered for her, so. It's fun. And kids are nicer than some people I'd have to serve coffee to and shit." 

*****

"Italy has a coastline and border of 7,600 kilometres and touches on the Adriatic, Ionian, and Tyrrhenian seas." Jin has his feet up against the wall and is balancing a beer bottle on his belly. His face looks weird all… vertical, Kazuya thinks. Then catches up.

Tyrannical sea, what? "What?"

"It was on the entrance exam," Jin says. "I was like, who needs to _know_ that?" He turns his vertical head more… differently vertical and squints at him. "You don't remember?"

"No," Kazuya admits. He's sitting cross-legged at the table, propping up his head because it started to feel heavy. "It's kind of a blur, all that." Not helped by the blur in his head, or Jin's stomach piercing, which is blurry silvery something where his t-shirt rode up. 

"HA! See, nobody remembers this shit anyway." He sounds utterly disgusted. "God, it was the _worst_." 

Kazuya remembers. He was so nervous. Their university is even kind of easy and he _just_ squeaked in.

"Did you pass on the first try?"

Jin's makes an even more disgusted face. "Nah, I kinda failed everything last year." He takes a swig from his bottle, then has to wipe some beer off his face because he judged the mouth-bottle trajectory wrong. "That's why it was so bad. A whole _year_ of that." He shakes himself like a beer-damp poodle.

"Yeah, I can imagine." Not that he ever does anything else than cram, but at least it wasn't an extra year of his parents paying, and that fucking nervousness _twice_ …

"Yeah, the second time was worse than… worst. Most worst." Jin giggles.

Kazuya blinks. He said that out loud? Right, okay then. He eyes his beer bottle, then shrugs and empties it. He is adapting to his environment. Uni's all about that, or so a brochure said. He thinks. He doesn't really care.

"I don't want to be so…" What, he wonders. Is the word. "So _me_ all the time." Yeah, something like that, sort of.

"You're not that bad," Jin says, which sounds much too warm and fuzzy in a… fuzzy sort of way. 

Kazuya props his chin up heavier. "I kind of get on my own nerves sometimes." He gestures with his bottle. "You know, this? I mean, not _this_ with the beer and everything but, working, on the project. That's _relaxing_. For me."

"Well, it kind of is," Jin says, and when Kazuya opens his stupid mouth Jin cuts him right off with an almost impressive glare and a dangerous swirl of beer. "And not because you're doing all the work, you dumbass. I work too. But it's fun. So, it's not _just_ work, so… relaxing."

Hm. That's not a bad angle. 

"Thanks."

Jin smiles, in a way that takes over his whole face. Maybe even the whole room. 

Would explain the sweat, and that jump in his pulse. Kazuya flutters his fingers against the beer bottle and tries not to let it show.

"Honestly, you're pretty cool," Jin says. He says it very honestly too. "I mean, you're also a pain in the ass but it does not cancel each other out."

That makes him grin. "Doesn't it?"

"Nope." Jin shakes his head energetically. "

"Okay, shut up," Kazuya says. "I'm not… your dog or whatever."

Jin blinks at him, and then suddenly he bursts out laughing. He lets his legs drop down from the wall as he curls up on his side. It makes Kazuya imagine, too, Jin petting him on the head after he's brought back a juicy samurai bone, and he snorts, and ends up bending over the table in a giggle fit because Jin still won't stop. 

"You'd be cute though," Jin says, sounding very sure and a bit unfocused. "Woof." 

Kazuya thinks. Wonders what sort of dog he'd be. Then realizes he's taking this way too seriously. Again.

Jin grins like he's noticed too, and it's weird how it suddenly doesn't feel bad or like he's being mocked. Even though he is being mocked. Weird. 

He's not entirely sober, he'll admit. 

And also, he realizes with a look at his watch, running kind of late. "I think I need to get going, though," he says. "I don't want to risk the last train."

"Whaaaat?" Jin looks shocked. "But, no, you can't go yet!"

"It got pretty late." He doesn't want to go yet either. This is nice. It's relaxing. For the most part. At least the piercing's gone from view, that helps. 

Jin pouts. No, seriously, he _pouts_. "I kind of lost count." He frowns at the beer bottle. "Track."

"I don't want to or anything but if I go for the last train and then I _miss_ it…"

"Then you come back and crash here," Jin prods. "Come on, dude, one more?" He stretches towards the carton that holds the beers – which sits between old paper for recycling and a laundry bin, but Kazuya's over that now, _so_ over it – and fumbles out two more bottles, rolls one towards the table. "Live a little." Another smile like that. Damn.

Kazuya takes the bottle, unscrews the cap, _drops_ the cap on the floor because hey he can so fit in here… he can live a little. 

"Awesome," Jin says. 

The beer is room temperature and he's had enough now that he can't actually tell if it tastes good, but it does _feel_ good. He takes, one, two long swallows, tingling and pleased when Jin looks proud of him. 

Then he picks up his beer cap and puts it on the table because it bothers him down there on the carpet.

Jin roll-crawls towards him and joins him at the table, every movement round, softened. "We should do this more often," he finds. 

"We do this a _lot_ ," Kazuya says, making a serious face of disagreement. He hopes. "I've been here almost every day since we started the project."

"Yeah, but, not with the hanging out." Jin's voice is slow, flowing easy. "It's nice to have you around."

"Well, it's…" He looks around, focuses on… he's not sure. The place is an unholy mess so it's not _nice_ to be here in the traditional sense except in the ways it's really very nice.

"I like it too," he says. He feels kind of silly.

"Well, good, then we don't have to stop after winning the contest!" Jin decides.

Kazuya laughs, and maybe this is relaxing too, this warm feeling in his stomach. It's definitely not _just_ the beer. "You're very confident, are you?"

"What, you don't think we've got this in the bag? We know more about this dude than the guys who _wrote_ the books. You don't think we'll win?"

Kazuya takes a deep breath, thinks in fall fairness that maybe---

"No lying," Jin demands. 

Kazuya holds his eyes, and then he can't tell who's grinning first. "We are so going to kick their asses," he says, and then he laughs and Jin laughs, and Kazuya is very much looking forward to all that ass-kicking, and then Jin leans in and his hair is dark and his face is close and his mouth is on Kazuya's. Right there. Touching. Cool with beer and warm and soft and holy crap. 

He freezes. Utterly freezes, and fuck, no, don't go away. Then he wakes up and _fuck_ , there is Jin, staring at him, his eyes all intense and his mouth right there and close and so soft and oh fuck he needs to get a grip, he needs to deal because he is most definitely not dealing. 

"I need to catch my train," he says. "Like. Now."

"Okay," Jin says. He blinks once, but then he pulls back, bites his lips – his… he just got _kissed_ – and nods. He gets up too, though not as fast as Kazuya. "I'll see you in class tomorrow?"

"Yes, sure. Thanks for---" No, not… like that. Fuck. "The drinks."

"You're welcome," Jin says. "Sorry, I didn't mean…" 

Heat shoots into Kazuya's face. His ears in particular. Damn those too. "It's okay. I just, the train. I need to get home. Can't miss class tomorrow."

"No. Can't do that."

Damn shoes. It's not like Kazuya is hurrying for no reason, it's that he really needs to catch the train, and not miss the train because people suddenly kiss him and things are way too surprising and way too nice.

Jin watches him with the shoes, and he looks thoughtful, for a guy on five beers, and not freaked out. But, well. Five beers. "Take care, be safe?" he says when he hands Kazuya his bag. 

"Yes, definitely. Thanks." He nods, because he's cool, they're cool, just slightly off the rails now and anyway he has a train to catch, and then he slips out the door, starts walking. 

The air is cool like that touch of wetness and Kazuya licks his lips as he remembers and his pulse is racing, and, well, fuck. This was entirely unexpected. 

Fuck.

*****

He spends half his train ride replaying the moment and how it stopped and how it felt. Then he's mad at Jin for surprising him so much that Kazuya doesn't even know all the details. He wonders what it would be like to do that more real and more adult and turns red and squirmy right there on the train, and he wonders if Jin wants to be his boyfriend and flashes through an unholy sequence of candles and dinners and music and Jin's bellybutton piercing, until he realizes how much cleaner and nicer Jin's apartment looks in his mind, which is as good a sign as any that he's deluded, and his face turns hotter, and he feels way too uncomfortable to be on a train and around people.

Because he's kidding himself, and Jin dates girls, and Kazuya is not losing his sanity in between two train stops.

So he spends the second half of his train ride feeling like an idiot, because Jin was probably fucking with him, or drunk, and everything's going to be super awkward and nobody will kiss anybody, and their project will fail, and maybe Jin will tell everyone Kamenashi Kazuya has the hots for him just to top it all off.

He's twitching by the time he gets to his stop, the train too slow, the people too… there. 

This never would have happened with Nakamaru.

Fuck.

*****

He can't sit still. Couldn't sit still on the train and couldn't sleep, and now he can't stop himself from checking the door…

Right. There he is. Definitely rushed, definitely straight out of bed and Kazuya hates that unpleasant jitter in his stomach that wasn't there before yesterday, or at least not like that. 

Jin heads straight towards him and Kazuya doesn't look away in time, Jin can probably totally tell he was waiting.

"Hey, good morning," Jin says, smiling, sitting down like they've always been bench neighbors. "God, I hate early classes." He looks at Kazuya for sympathy and Kazuya nods vaguely.

He hates weird train rides and not knowing what the hell is going on, otherwise he can deal with early classes fine.

"Hey, did you catch your train okay?" Jin wants to know. It sounds concerned and completely harmless. 

Jin is exactly like before and Kazuya can't make anything of it. 

"Yes, it was fine," he says, noticing he's twitching his fingers against the desk and stopping himself. "Just got a bit late, is all." 

"Yeah…" There's a long pause. "Well, anyway, are you coming over later?"

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," he says. 

"Well, we…" Jin frowns, but Kazuya focuses on his fingers and on keeping them still. Jin's voice gets a little rough. "We have the project to finish?"

Yeah, there is that. Why they were hanging out in the first place, and drinking beer, and have stuff happen that doesn't seem to bother Jin at all, and who knows, maybe he really doesn't remember.

There's a hush, teacher approaching. "Okay, fine," Kazuya says without looking sideways. "We can finish it tomorrow, I have work tonight."

Then Kimura-sensei comes in. Kazuya normally gets a little jolt from that but he's all unsorted today, doesn't even care about what the English were up to fifty years after last week.

"Um, I don't have my book," Jin whispers three minutes in. He makes a contrite face and gives Kazuya a little smile.

"Of course you don't," Kazuya says, annoyed with himself, with his jittery insides and Akanishi having just another day at university.

Jin blinks. "Thanks," he says when Kazuya shoves his textbook into the middle. Today he needs it too, because he's not prepared. He hasn't prepared any questions or clever answers and he's not listening properly to Kimura-sensei, which sucks because he was doing quite well and he doesn't want Kimura-sensei to think he's not interested just because some drunk guy kissed him last night and is now cool and easy while Kazuya can't focus on anything else.

*****

"What if your laptop freezes?" Kazuya wants to know. The video is good, he'll admit that. A little cut of the life of Mori Ranmaru from documentaries and movies Jin stole off the internet, not that Kazuya really knows how stealing on the internet works. But he's not sure they should show it or if it's too weird and if maybe they should have stuck with something safer, and he shouldn't have let Jin talk him into aiming high and being experimental, maybe they should have stuck to what people normally do with these displays.

"It's not going to freeze, see?" Jin clicks on the play button again. The music starts up again, and it was nice the first time but by now it's grating. He doesn't want to know what it'll be like after they've been standing next to their exhibit for three hours.

"What if someone steals your mouse? If something goes wrong with the tech then we won't have anything," he says, because he can't help with any of that and it makes him nervous.

"You don't think you could have told me that before I cut five videos together last night?" He still looks like everything is just fine, everything's great, Kazuya is just nitpicking. He's put out two beers without even asking, and Kazuya hasn't touched his. He hasn't even had water. 

"I didn't tell you to do that," Kazuya says testily. Sure, they agreed they would go for what Jin wanted, something where people get to 'do stuff' even if that means clicking a play button, but it's not like anyone actually said Jin should stay up all night to deal with it on his own, so this is really not Kazuya's fault.

"We agreed to make it multi-media and we made, like, a script," Jin says. "We just need a bigger screen and then it'll be great."

Kazuya frowns at the laptop. "After you used the graphic you hated so much," he says. Jin used a picture collage Kazuya put together. It has a button with Oda Nobunaga in the middle, and the most important people in his life in pictures around them, and when you click on them, Jin's little movies show up. The graphic doesn't look as professional as Kazuya had hoped, but it's not like Mitsuhide really only has one arm, as Jin kept giggling about two nights ago.

"I didn't say I hated it, it just could be a bit slicker," is what he says now. Didn't sound like that on happy beer night, but okay. "And it's not like I can do any better, and we don't have much time left, so I used it."

"Great, thank you very much."

Jin sets his beer down. It makes a noise, and then there's quiet. "Hey. Can you stop being such an ass?"

"I'm not being an ass! I'm just telling you that---"

"You've been giving me nothing but shit since you walked in the door, _and_ yesterday, over absolutely nothing. What the fuck, Kamenashi?"

Kazuya looks up in hot, helpless embarrassment. It tastes a lot like anger but it's not really, and Jin… Jin was just normal.

Normal, moving the project on. Not having accidental replays of kisses and not distracted from everyone and everything else. 

Putting in a lot of work too. Kazuya got distracted from that too. He's an idiot all around. "Sorry," he mumbles. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

Jin stares at him. Close, though not as close as… "I'm not putting up with your random pissy bullshit and I want to know what's up. You're mad at me over stuff, spit it out." He looks defiant, almost like a dare.

"I just…" Okay. Maybe it's best to get it out there, and let the chips fall. Maybe. It feels like _something_ is falling, anyway. "I kind of… I like you." He doesn't breathe, or at least not so Jin could see. Feel. Because he's right there and Kazuya can still smell his shampoo and the beer and it's better if he doesn't breathe.

Jin stays close, too. Just blinks. "Okay?"

Kazuya nods and hopes this won't get too… painful. That they're not going to ruin the project. That Jin's not going to freak. 

"You like me, so you're being a dick to me?" Jin asks. "That is so retarded." 

Kazuya swallows dry. Put like that, it's really... 

Jin squirms to wrestle his phone out of his jeans and very purposefully starts tapping on the keypad with his index finger.

"Who---" Kazuya has to clear his throat. "Who are you calling?"

"The president of the university," Jin says. "I know it's not the best school in the world but he's got to do something about letting total _idiots_ in, or it'll _really_ go to the dogs."

Kazuya watches him and feels his stomach plummet. "You can't call the president of the university!"

Jin stops dialling, though his fingers are doing a drum-like thing on his phone. "No." His shoulders slump in frustration. "I don't actually have his number." His shifty look seems to say that this is somehow Kazuya's fault.

"Look, it's no big deal," Kazuya says. He almost believes it too. "I'm sorry I was weird about it. It's just, I don't know if you remember, because we had a lot of beer, but…" He's so wound up by the arguing that for a crazy moment he wonders if he just dreamed it. But, no, he definitely remembers having hour-long conversations with himself and fantasizing about bellybuttons, and Jin wants to know what the hell was going on and, so, here it is. "You kind of kissed me. Last time."

Jin stares at him, eyes frozen wide. Damn. Why, _why_ did he have to say it, oh god, why didn't he stop and why can't he just rewind all of this. Fuck.

"Are you high?" Jin asks. "Of course I remember. You think I've never had a beer before?"

"But you---" He feels a flush creeping up his neck, wonders if Jin is right and he is an idiot, a worse idiot. "You were all normal. All… like it was fine."

"Yeah, I _was_ fine," Jin says, an insulted line between his eyebrows. "You're the one who ran off and then acted like Little Miss Prissynanny."

"But…" Jin dates girls, it was _very_ clear in their conversations, and also he… also he… no, Kazuya is sure he was right to be sure. It's obvious. Isn't it? "Why did you kiss me?" 

Jin throws up his hands and makes a wide-armed gesture. "Because… because! Why do people kiss people?" He exhales audibly and glares harder, and Kazuya wonders for the first time if he's maybe not as smooth and fine as he seemed. He waits, his throat all dry.

"Because you're cute and I wanted to and it seemed like the right moment." Jin shrugs almost violently. "Also I did have a few beers. And I've seen you checking me out so I didn't think you'd get all offended."

Heat shoots into Kazuya's face, so stupid, and something pulses in his head. "Okay, wait," he says, his voice all rough. "Is it the beer now?" They should just be clear about that, before Kazuya commits any more stupidity or… or anything like that. "Or do you like me too?"

"You really want to ask me that _now_ after being a total dipshit to me for two days," Jin says huffily, and Kazuya opens his mouth to argue because somehow he feels up to arguing again, but then he holds in his breath because Jin's eyebrows draw together in something like decision, and he moves, leaning in and getting closer, _that_ close. 

Then he waits. The room is just this tiny bit of space. "I'd do that again now." Kazuya can feel his breath. "Just so you know this time."

"Okay, I got it," Kazuya says, squeaky like a dying hamster, oh fuck. 

Jin closes the space, all gone, just that touch on his lips, soft and warm and quietly electric. This time there's nothing he'll forget.

He moves his mouth against Jin's, that's easy, and there's more moist with pressure, heat rushing all over him. Jin's silent laugh tickles his nose. 

Kazuya wants to look, what's funny and is he doing it wrong, but Jin cups his face and keeps him there. Which is also fine. 

He goes with it, opens his mouth when Jin flicks his tongue there and wants in, and it's the weirdest thing, someone else's tongue in his mouth and his spit there, and it takes a moment before all that weird and shock and heat turns into really fucking awesome. His pulse is racing and his mind is racing, trying to keep up with it all. He tries to do what Jin does, lick against Jin's tongue and move his lips like that, and Jin's breath comes muffled and sharp, and _fuck_ yeah. 

Jin pulls him back to lie on the floor, kisses him from on top and that's okay, that's fine, Kazuya's arms go around him because what else are they going to do, he doesn't have to worry and pulling Jin's body closer makes him sweat and squirm and it's perfect. 

"I see you're not scrambling out of here this time," Jin grins mid-kiss, because he is still annoying, but also gorgeous with darker lips and a warm close scent that's driving Kazuya a little crazy.

He shakes his head, against that disgusting pizza carpet, doesn't give a fuck. "No, definitely not." Then he feels adventurous and pulls Jin down by his neck, says how he's definitely not leaving and definitely doing more of this with his mouth and his tongue, and then an arch of his back when Jin's hand is suddenly under his t-shirt.

"You are a lot of trouble," Jin mumbles, and Kazuya is not entirely coping with more going on and where this is _going_ and Jin's hands feeling so good. "But at least not more than you're worth." And he sounds pretty happy.

Good.

Kazuya has never made out with anyone, ever, and every time Jin smushes them closer together, leans on him heavier, finds more of his skin above the belt, there's another shock and a moment of disbelief. By the time Jin's pressing against him with what is probably an erection he'd probably be hyperventilating, if the kissing wasn't so great for focusing on.

"So, hey," Jin says, nibbling at Kazuya's lower lip. "Just asking, but. Do you want to go to my room?"

It takes a moment to filter through, it's not complicated code but it… means things. Yeah. "Do you?" His lips feel wet and dry at the same time.

"I'm the one asking, dumbass," Jin says, but it's soft with a smile, and he actually puts his _tongue_ behind Kazuya's _ear_ , which should not feel like this at all. "So, yeah. I'd love to."

Kazuya comes down from that bucking gasp and tries to focus. "Yes, sure. Okay. Sure." 

Jin grins and lifts himself off. It gets… cold. And stupid, for a moment, until Jin puts a hand out and pulls him up, in a way that feels more like camaraderie than anything else. 

"Come on," he says, holding on to Kazuya's hand. 

Jin's room is the one with the sliding door just off the genkan. The door slides open and there's Jin's bedroom, longer than wide with a gloomy milky window high up in a corner, piles of fabric near the door and bedding bunched up along the wall. Jin pulls him in and they're already standing on the futon. It's basically a closet, except the clothes are on the floor and not washed.

Jin closes the door again, then takes Kazuya's hand again and pulls him down with him on the futon. Kazuya lands awkwardly on his knees, but doesn't wait for any weirdness to fill the spaces, just crawls and shifts and Jin pulls him back, and then he's lying down half-on half-off Jin and Jin grabs his hair and pulls him back into a kiss.

Room was a good idea, he thinks. And doesn't think much else, because there's Jin's hard-on poking him and his own hips jerking against Jin, and it all works, it's all great. Jin fumbles for his bedside light and it's fuzzy and smelling of burned dust, and his mouth is shiny where Kazuya kissed him and Kazuya feels a smile on his face he just can't stop, just hide. 

After a while Jin's hands inch down towards his ass, and he doesn't mind that grab either.

He needs a break, to breathe, and Jin is grinning up at him flushed and soft and so gorgeous. "I totally like you," it bursts out of him. "I'm sorry I was a jerk." 

Jin laughs and pinches his ass again, and then he rolls them over. He lands with his head and a pile of stuff and Jin pushes stray shirt sleeves off his face. They wriggle down a bit back into the middle of the futon, and Jin comes down on him with a warm amazing weight.

It smells of gym shoes here and the futon needs an airing. It also smells of Jin, all around him, some new heavy scent getting stronger and it's awesome and makes him drunk. He pushes up against Jin because he's _sure_ it's fine now, and Jin pushes right back, until suddenly he shifts and the weight is gone, and instead Jin's hand is on his belt. 

Undoing it. Okay.

Jin is watching him, biting his lip, taking his time, or maybe just needing time Kazuya is not entirely following because his ears are full of noise but he doesn't move anywhere or stop anything, and then he feels a stretch of underwear and Jin's hand is on his dick.

Kazuya doesn't breathe. Holds utterly, perfectly still, and he can see Jin swallow, a bit of hesitation. His hand moves, pulls, and oh _fuck_. 

Jin stares there, everything slow. Then meets Kazuya's eyes again. "You okay?" His voice is all raspy. 

"Yeah." This is okay. More than okay. "Just, I'm not…" 

Jin bites his lip again. Another stroke, Kazuya closing his eyes, and Jin asks softly, "Are you a virgin?"

It burns over his skin, but not good like Jin's touch does. He's so lame. Almost an adult, and he doesn't want to scramble, as Jin called it, but suddenly he feels silly, like in class when he's the only stupid one.

"I'm not making fun of you," Jin says. "Really, I'm… I'm, like, a gay virgin, I think that kind of counts?" 

Kazuya doesn't know if it does. Or if it's stupid. Or if it means that Jin is kind of crazy. But suddenly he knows Jin is _really_ not mocking him, and he can say, "Yeah, I… I haven't really done…" Well. Truth. "Anything."

The line is back between Jin's eyebrows, but Kazuya doesn't freak and just lets him think what he's thinking. 

"Well, tell me if you don't like something?" he says, bending down and brushing their lips together. "We can figure stuff out." He moves his hand gingerly and no, Kazuya can't find anything here he doesn't like. He closes his eyes for a moment, just to feel.

"After all, we're meant to learn stuff," Jin adds, "and grow," and it's so awful and dumb Kazuya actually has to laugh. 

Jin is grinning, then kissing him. Takes a moment to sort out the kissing versus the hand coordination but when he does Kazuya thinks this may be the best thing that ever happened in his entire life.

Including passing his entrance exams. 

He rolls with it, his hands clasping Jin's shoulders, hips jerking as Jin gets serious about the figuring out of stuff, and getting kind of breathless. He winces once when it's too dry and tight and Jin pauses, gets it, it's no problem either.

"Wait, I think I have some--- I've got some lotion stuff that I, um. Have. Wait. That'll be better."

Fair point, Kazuya thinks. "Okay." 

Jin sits back on his heels to look around the general mess and Kazuya raises his head a bit, props up his elbows even though he's probably not required or useful in the search party. 

"I think… wait…" Jin leans over him, digging through some t-shirts stuffed past the pillow. He's kneeling over Kazuya's waist and Kazuya runs his hands up Jin's legs, because he can, which makes Jin laugh but not stop flinging t-shirts to a different side.

Jin's crotch is right in front of him, and Kazuya can't stop staring at the bulge in it. His pulse kicks up again, sweat on his palms. A hard-on under jeans and something pulls together hot and deep inside of him, and before he thinks his hands are on Jin's fly. 

"Hey!" Jin says, peering down with his hair falling in the way. "I'm looking for---"

"We don't need it," Kazuya says. It's not like he's really got a clue but he's not totally behind the times either. "We can do something where we don't need it."

He pushes Jin over, some hard landing there but Jin doesn't look like he minds, and his fingers make frantic work of the button though he's more careful with the zipper, and not at all all careful with Jin's underpants, and then he's got a hard cock in his hand.

Jin's cock, and Jin's stomach tenses when Kazuya just… feels him.

"Still okay?" Jin asks, touching his arm, leaving a little stroke there.

Oh, yes. "Definitely," he says, tries a smile but he's really too excited for that, and it's not like he really knows this but he does know what he's supposed to do, and so he leans down and puts his mouth right there, on Jin's cock. Around it. 

He hears Jin inhale but that's the only sound. It's smooth and soft, and when he slides down a bit there's more of that scent in his nose, thicker and warmer. A little salty on his tongue when he pulls back. His neck is prickling with sweat and that noise is back in his hears. 

He does it again, more deliberate, until Jin gives a tiny twitch. Licks the spit off at the end and Jin twitches more, that seems to be good. 

So he does it again but this time he doesn't take a break, this time he keeps going, up and down, slow and as much as he can. 

Seems to work, seems to go okay. And he's almost dizzy. It always looked hot to him but he didn't imagine it would feel like this, not from this end. That it's _fun_ , and a little intoxicating. Tricky too and there is the voice in his head that wants to know how he expects to be good at this but he can't really hear it over how he's getting hard and needy with the way Jin feels, the thrill when he gets Jin to make a noise, or the blurry comfort of Jin patting his hair, touching his head. 

Jin is harder now and the salty taste gets stronger, Kazuya is getting kind of a mess but he doesn't even mind, because---

"Ow, ow, _teeth_ ," Jin hisses, "watch the teeth." 

Fuck. It's like hot ice down his back, he's so embarrassed. Fuck. "Sorry," he mumbles.

"It's okay," Jin says, shaking his head up there. He's patting Kazuya's hair again and then tracing his ear. "Just saying. Don't stop." Then he frowns. "I mean, not, you know, on _my_ account."

That's funny, somehow. Or maybe that giggle is his nerves. "Okay," he says, "sorry," and Jin shakes his head again and Kazuya bends his head down again. Mindful of teeth. 

Embarrassment fades and he's back with the taste, the heat, the awesome thrill of _doing_ this. It gets trickier and a touch uncomfortable but even that is hot, turns him on. Jin's hips move more, a shallow feedback Kazuya runs with, and Jin's breathing gets deeper, everything slicker in his hand, in his mouth.

"I'm going to come," Jin rasps, which to be fair they also say in Kazuya's porn only Jin says it totally differently. 

Kazuya keeps it going, knows enough not to falter _now_ and then Jin makes a noise and goes tense, and there's come in his mouth, salty and stronger and more. 

It's weird and a bit slimy but he doesn't actually mind. Just feels a bit self-conscious as he swallows the stuff, thinking… so that's what that's like. He wipes his face, and god, he's grinning.

"Hey." Jin pulls him up, and then down on top of him. That never happens in the porn either but this is where he'll run with what Jin does. "Everything good?"

"Yeah, absolutely." And Jin put him there on top of him so Kazuya doesn't feel weird about hiding his sticky face in the bend of Jin's neck, and slowly breathing his way back to calm. 

"That was really nice," Jin says quietly. Kazuya enjoys the way Jin's chest is rising and falling. And Jin's probably cleaner than the futon. 

"Good," Kazuya says. It seems like a reasonable thing to say. "Thanks." 

Jin laughs lightly. Then he squirms and makes Kazuya raise his head. Guides his chin with two fingers and gives him another kiss. 

Okay, so that's how that goes too. Good. Works for him. 

Jin pushes his hands under Kazuya's t-shirt and strokes warm circles over his skin. "You smell really good," he mumbles into Kazuya's neck. 

Kazuya's too buzzed to blush, or he might. He laughs a bit. 

"Don't worry," Jin says lazily. "Just taking a minute."

"I'm not worried?" Kazuya says. In fact he's great, and Jin's hands on his back are making him want to purr.

"I just mean---" And Jin goes totally stiff. Then Kazuya hears it too, the sound of shoes… dropping on a floor, and something else landing with a thud. 

" _Fuck_ ," Jin says. "God, dammit, he was at _work_."

The roommate, Yamashita. Kazuya whips his head around even though he knows they closed the door, and he's nervous and doused in uncertainty. Is this drama? Are they maybe more than roommates after all? Is Yamashita going to freak his roommate has a guy in here? Is _Jin_ going to freak?

"Yeah, I closed it but the walls are as good as paper," Jin grumbles in a low voice. "That was _not_ supposed to happen, dammit." He pushes lightly and Kazuya gets a clue, almost jumps off Jin.

"Sorry," Kazuya says. "Should I---"

"You wait here," Jin says, not even whispering as he tugs his underpants in place and zips up. He smoothes his t-shirt down and runs a hand through his hair. "I'll just deal with this."

He slips through the sliding door and closes it again.

Damn. Kazuya's heart is pounding and he feels totally caught, even if nobody saw him yet.

"Hey, what are you doing home?" he hears, a furious half-whisper.

"I got off early." Yamashita's voice is normal. "Hey, is that your Nobunaga crap? Where's the guy?"

"You are not supposed to be home already," Jin hisses. He was completely right, the walls are a joke. 

Now Kazuya flushes after all. He hadn't even thought of the roommate. It's weird, and he's still sitting here and god, even his pants are still undone, his dick no longer so interested. He carefully, quietly, gets himself in order. 

"No way!" Yamashita says, but then his voice also drops to a whisper, maybe they both know how to adjust for the walls because now Kazuya doesn't hear the answer. He buckles his belt and tries to flatten his hair. Wipes his face again. 

It's okay. This was so good and so much… He'll be thinking about it for _months_. He's getting a little sweaty thinking about it _now_ and that's with Jin's shocked roommate out there.

No, really, this was much more than he ever expected.

"Yeah, just, I'll call you," he can hear Jin hiss again. "Just, not before…" And it drops off again.

"You have a good night," Yamashita says loudly and cheerfully, and then there's the click of the door. 

Kazuya is kneeling on the futon, ready to get up and pack his stuff. He still starts when the sliding door moves.

Jin slips back in with a red face and a sheepish expression. "Sorry. That kind of ruined… hey!" He stops with a frown, and then his eyes widening. "No, no no no!" He waves both hands at Kazuya and kneels down too. "I just got these off you, you're not supposed to get _more_ dressed." His hands reach for Kazuya's belt.

"But your roommate…"

"I sent him out, he's not coming back until I call him, I told him I had company!" Jin stops fiddling because Kazuya hasn't budged, and it's a little awkward. "You don't want… like…" 

Kazuya shrugs. "I just thought… I mean, it's okay."

Now Jin's eyes narrow. "Seriously?" He shuffles closer on his knees and his kiss doesn't land right, sort of too high, but Kazuya's arms go around him anyway because apparently he doesn't get asked in these things anymore.

Jin kisses him with a lot of intention, and it's still working, making him squirm right there and feel confined in his pants. "No, I kind of want to," he says in a rush, and Jin gives a satisfied huff.

"All right, get back there," he instructs, which Kazuya might object to except getting back down on the futon _does_ seem like a good start. 

So he sits back and stretches out his legs. But Jin doesn't push him down right away this time. He also doesn't work his way up to the belt. Instead he unbuckles and unzips him and then pulls his jeans all the way off, and the room is so small he nearly hits the wall with his arms. Then he tugs Kazuya's t-shirt over his head. 

It's much more naked than before, and makes him uncertain, but then he decides that doesn't have to be so and grabs the hem of Jin's t-shirt right back. 

Jin lets him tug it off, and his hair falls fluffily over his head. Kazuya swallows dry, a bit fascinated by Jin's dark nipples. And there's the silver gleaming from Jin's bellybutton. He doesn't even know why that's so hot, but he's glad he's already rid of his jeans. 

He touches it and Jin's stomach pulls together in goosebumps. But then Jin's hand curls around his neck, and he's met with another kiss, and they're toppling down on the futon.

Jin lands on him hard, says, "sorry," but it's okay. It's perfect. Skin on skin and he's _never_ been this close with anyone, and he's maybe a bit high. 

His hands start to clutch at Jin's back as the kissing gets longer and deeper, and his hips find their own rhythm against Jin. He feels it when Jin smiles, and there's a squirm and Jin's arms… Jin shifts his weight, moves down. 

Okay. No, he is totally okay, and he is not going to come from things he can only _think_ about, when he dares to think about them.

"Really, you smell amazing," Jin mumbles, dragging his lips down Kazuya's chest, and god, his mouth feels great everywhere. 

Kazuya shivers. "You feel great," he manages, flushing still and glad when Jin doesn't follow up on it. 

Because Jin is nuzzling is stomach, for a long moment, and then he stops. "Okay, so…" It's more to himself, and he looks focused, and Kazuya tenses all over watching Jin watch his dick. He wraps a hand around it and Kazuya sucks in a hard breath, and then Jin's head goes down, and Jin's mouth is on his dick. 

He's trying to stay still and only freak out on the inside, but his breathing says everything, that little squeaky sound when Jin _sucks_ and holy crap.

He was so wrong about the best thing that ever happened in his life. 

Jin doesn't seem deterred by newness or taste or in fact that moan that comes out of Kazuya's throat. This is so crazy, and good, licking and heat and tight blurring into each other. His fingers curl against the futon, and then they're in Jin's hair, on his shoulders, and he has to focus to take them away, the stuff he's watched is probably not a good guideline.

The licking stops, but Jin's hand gives him a firm wet stroke. "Leave them, feels good when you touch me," Jin mumbles. He peers up at Kazuya with dark eyes and a flush. His mouth is wet. "I mean, don't push me down or whatever. But I like touching."

Kazuya nods very quickly. Sure, he can touch. No problem.

Jin nods once too, and then dips down and the heat is back, making him arch his back and gasp. 

He leaves his fingers in Jin's hair. It's even more of a turn-on when he feels the up and down against his hands, Jin's mouth wet and steady, and he's getting needy, needy and oh so close.

He tells Jin like Jin did, tries to keep his fingers from clutching tight, and there's, "oh my god," just a whisper, "oh god," bucking sharply against a sudden tight hold, Jin's hands keeping his hips down and he's coming so hard, it's like everything's white and pulsing and gone.

Oh, god. 

He lies there with his eyes closed and everything about him useless and limp. Finally there's a twitch, his dick… heat slipping off, and cold. Jin's fingers let go of his hips and it's a whole lot of pressure gone, oh fuck, did he… was he… 

"Is everything okay?" he says on his useless voice, raising his head.

Jin has that thoughtful line between his eyebrows, his mouth darker and swollen, but curving into a smile. "That was fun," he says. 

"Good," Kazuya says, breathing out in relief, which makes Jin laugh at him again. He seems a little stiff and wobbly, crawling back up, but then he settles comfortably against Kazuya's side. 

"You okay, too?"

Is he okay. There has to be a way to put it, how that made him feel. How this whole evening felt. But it just doesn't form in his head, everything's not quite enough. "I'm great," he whispers, because he's still lame.

"Excellent," Jin declares. He settles down more heavily and seems to wipe his cheek against the sheet. Kazuya could think a thought about that and the state of the futon, but then decides he doesn't give a fuck.

He twists his arm around Jin so he can pat reach the back of his head, and pulls him in for a kiss. 

"Hmmmm," Jin says. Kazuya _hmmms_ him right back.

Jin stays curled against his side, warm and a bit sticky. Settled like he's not planning to move any time soon, and that works just fine for Kazuya. For a long while they just stay there, Jin heavy and peaceful, Kazuya having moments of this flash in his mind and intermittently breaking out in sweat.

Eventually, though, his brain catches up with him again.

"I need to check for trains," Kazuya says into the quiet. "I should probably get going soon."

Jin slides a leg over him and his arm pulls tight over his chest. "Fuck the train," he says. "Sleep here."

"But I can't, we have class tomorrow."

Jin raises his head slowly and pins him down with a stare, in addition to the arm and the leg. "Seriously. There is no normal human reason for you to haul your ass on a train tonight. You can sleep here. We'll go to class together tomorrow."

"What if I go to the bathroom and your roommate sees me?"

Jin shrugs. "Means he doesn't need new glasses?" Then he settles back with his head next to Kazuya's and pretends to bite him on the shoulder. 

"Okay, fine," Kazuya says. It feels chancy and adventurous, but maybe he's just being a wimp. "I'll stay."

"Yay," Jin grins. "You're weirder than a hedgehog on speed, you know that."

Kazuya tries to picture that and doesn't at all know what Jin means.

"Still cute, though," Jin adds, and that seems to be his final verdict.

*****

Something pulls him up. A click in the door. Kazuya blinks into the darkness, and something stirs behind him. The air is warm and so is Jin.

Oh.

Outside he can track the noises of someone coming home, going to bed. Water tap and toilet flush, doors sliding.

Jin is snuffling against his neck, and Kazuya closes his eyes again.

*****

He wakes up with a jolt, and before he even checks the time he's elbowed Jin, who is breathing against his shoulder.

" _Ow_ ," Jin whines. "What."

"We forgot to finish the presentation." Fuck, fuck, fuck. That stupid graphic, and they haven't practiced, what if they get _questions_?

"Go the fuck to sleep," Jin mumbles. 

"How am I supposed to sleep when we didn't finish the presentation," Kazuya hisses, remembering walls. The door to Yamashita's room isn't likely to be much more solid either.

"We were _done_."

"We didn't proofread the texts and Mitsuhide has one arm and we didn't get a screen."

"Right," Jin says. He sits up in the gloom, one arm accidentally slapping into Kazuya's shoulder, and stuff gets thrown and rearranged and then his phone screen comes on. Jin's face is crumpled from sleep and he's glaring. "I'm setting the alarm for _six_." He sounds like he's discussing a grave perversion. "I'm not getting up now, we're sorting it then."

The room goes dark again as Jin puts his phone away. 

Great. Now he can lie here in Jin's clothes hamper coffin and try not to fret about tomorrow. 

"Go back to sleep," Jin says gruffly. 

"Well, I'm awake now," Kazuya says through clenched teeth. 

There's no reply. Maybe Jin's already under again, congratulations. 

But then there's a shift, and Kazuya huffs in surprise when Jin rolls right alongside him again. They never put their shirts back on and Jin's skin against his, naked and warm, isn't making him sleepier, exactly. 

Jin puts a hand on his stomach. "Are you."

"Look, I just… get concerned…"

"I think you're getting other things too," Jin says. His hand disappears.

Kazuya is admittedly thinking the same, but that was hardly… oh.

There's a tug on his shorts, and Jin's hand back, wrapping around his erection. A slick, slightly cool slide, and Kazuya shudders with shock. 

"Just by the way," Jin whispers into his ear, as Kazuya bites his lip and rocks into it. "I found the lotion."

*****

There's sandpaper behind his eyes. Kazuya wishes he were elsewhere, preferably in a bed, despite Takizawa-sensei and despite this strange floating feeling in his body that isn't at all bad.

But he hasn't slept enough. 

Jin hasn't slept enough either, and he keeps zoning out on the walls.

The students have put up their history displays along the corridor to the main lecture hall, and the high schoolers visiting the Open Door Day are milling about, squinting at the long tables and info graphs most groups have put together. 

Ueda and Taguchi managed to get an actual piece of clothing of Nobunaga, on loan from a museum, and Kazuya doesn't even want to know what sort of connections that takes. That's the one that worries him a little, but on the other hand their table is busy, and they were way more original. 

Jin's videos draw a lot of attention, despite Kazuya's ugly graphic, and despite the fact that they have to lean in to watch the stuff on Jin's laptop instead of that bigger screen they never got around to organizing. 

Kazuya is proud when he sees people click on things, and then embarrassed when he remembers how much is unfinished, and then really kind of distracted when he remembers why it stayed unfinished.

"Going well," Jin says next to him. "Right?" His eyes are kind of bloodshot so he really shouldn't be looking this good. Distracting Kazuya so much.

"I think so," Kazuya says and tries not to bounce from foot to foot. Takizawa-sensei and three of his colleagues from the history department are wandering down the line of exhibits, taking notes and whispering with each other. Okay, so what they did isn't perfect, but it's new and kind of cool and actually perfect for the sort of people who come to visit on an Open Door Day.

Jin shoots him a slow, exhausted smile, and for a moment Kazuya forgets about the high schoolers and the contest, just feels stupidly happy.

*****

"And coming to Kyoto with me, to see the Honno-ji Festival Performance are…"

Kazuya holds his breath. Next to him Jin is doing the same. Maybe they'll get to celebrate together. And take the trip, and it would be great, like an adventure, and right now Kazuya can't think of anything better than an adventure with---

"Ueda Tatsuya-kun and Taguchi Junnosuke-kun!"

 _What?_  
  
"Fuck," Jin mutters. 

Kazuya was so sure. He watches Ueda and Taguchi taking in their congratulations, and he's jealous and angry and just so disappointed in himself. Maybe it was the missing arm. Maybe it was that they didn't practice. Maybe they got _distracted._

Jin's eyes are stormy and his mouth is in a tight pout. "I don't believe this…"

But, no. Kazuya doesn't really believe it either. It's as unbelievable that he spent half a night kissing Jin and is wearing one of his cleaner shirts, and that Jin still seems to like him.

*****

"This is bullshit," Jin complains. He's been complaining all the way as they walked off campus together. "Bull. Shit."

"Yeah, I guess we didn't really do what they were looking for," Kazuya says. He hates it even as it comes out of his mouth. He's pissed off and disappointed and tired, and he doesn't even know why he's defending this to Jin.

Jin looks like he doesn't know either. "They just got someone else's work!"

"I guess that it was still pretty special to pull that off," Kazuya says. Doing it _again_.

Jin rolls his eyes, and in between the disappointment over the contest Kazuya feels a knot of fear that maybe now he crossed some line, was too… something. 

"So, whatever. Are we going to, I don't know." Jin gives him a shifty look. "Have a drink and bitch about it some more?"

"I have a work shift," Kazuya says. He really, really wishes he didn't. He's so tired and Jin looks suspicious. "Honestly."

Jin seems to think it over. He has a job too, he knows how it goes. Right.

"Okay," he says. "So I call you?"

"Yeah, call me," Kazuya says. He doesn't add please but if his voice is anything like the lump in his stomach, he probably doesn't need to.

*****

Jin doesn't call him, though. He sends him an email.

 _I still have your books and notes. Come meet me at the Shibuya Starbucks at 3 pm._  
  
It's Saturday again and Kazuya finds this confusing, but he goes to Shibuya even though Jin didn't reply to his replies with anything useful, just insisted on the meeting place.

So Kazuya is here now. Maybe that should worry him.

Jin is waiting outside and he's already got two coffees to go. He looks much more rested, and something around here is making Kazuya unstable. Maybe some strange earthquake only he can feel, and all the people milling about crowding Shibuya crossing are oblivious.

"Hi," he says. 

"Hey," Jin says. "Thanks for coming."

"Sure, no problem," Kazuya says. "Are these my books?" He nods at the bag Jin is carrying.

"No, actually," Jin says, handing Kazuya one of his paper cups. "Your books are still at my place." 

"What?" The email said… "Why?"

Jin takes a deep breath. "Your books are at my place because I never know when you choose to turn stupid and in case you'll do the hedgehog thing again you'll have to at least come by my place again because I still have your books."

That… Kazuya rewinds it in his head. And decides to get it, and not be stupid. "I would still come to your place," he says slowly. "I'd _like_ to come back to your place."

Jin's face lights up. Kazuya hadn't thought it could get any brighter. "I would really like that too," he says. Then he takes a breath, tucks his bag strap in place, and looks all business. "But okay, right now we need to catch a train."

*****

If Kazuya had planned this, he'd have brought binoculars.

The stage is somewhere far down there, and the actor playing Nobunaga is being drenched in blood, and Kazuya is holding his breath, it's that cool. He wishes he could see the actors' faces but it's still just… cool.

And he didn't plan this; Jin did. 

Jin is fidgeting around in the seat next to him, and Kazuya's noticed before that he's not a fan of the death scenes so much. Or maybe not the blood. 

"You having fun?" he whispers, quietly enough so none of the people up here in the cheap seats hiss at them. 

"It's awesome," Kazuya says, and maybe he imagines it, but he thinks he can feel Jin's leg pressing against his.

*****

"I'm sorry the seats were crap," Jin says. "I tried but I just couldn't afford the better ones."

They're walking along the lit path through the park, other festival goers scattered here and there. Their seats were so far up that they were among the last to get out, so they missed the heaviest crowds.

"It was great," Kazuya says. For once it's easy. Also, true. He only thought of Ueda and Taguchi down there right in front of the state once, and then decided he didn't care. "I really loved it. Thank you."  
Buying tickets himself hadn't even occured to him. Jin got them train tickets and tickets to the play, from his babysitter money.

"You're welcome," Jin says. He's walking slowly, and the lanterns make his face look warm and softer than ever. It's dark off the path, though the lights obscure the stars in the night sky. 

They're not in a hurry. The last train back to Tokyo already left, and Kazuya doesn't care about that either. Something will work out.

"I feel a bit bad we didn't… I mean…" Jin is watching his shoes as they walk. "We could have had more time to work on stuff and you really wanted the prize…"

Kazuya stops. His heart is beating weirdly, when there's no dicks in the mix, no going to anyone's room. Just Jin watching him quietly and wondering about stuff.

"I mean, that's not why I got us tickets. But." Jin shrugs a bit. "Are you sorry we didn't, like, spend the time on the presentation?" 

"No," he says.

"I didn't want to mess anything up for you."

Kazuya takes a moment to think, and focus. This doesn't come naturally to him but he can, and it's right, and so he will. He takes Jin's hand. Pulls him to the side of the path. Not even into shade and dark. Just out of the way. Whoever cares or doesn't can just walk past them. "I'm not sorry at all," he says, and steps in and puts his arms around Jin's neck before he kisses him.

Fuck the prize and the first fifteen rows, he thinks, as Jin gives a startled twitch and then pulls him tight. 

Few things have ever been so worth it.


End file.
